FY2012 Budget Comments, Smart-Alecky Edition

[From the 2025 Vision Statement] Its downtown is the heart of the community…

Translation: We hate that the Super Wal-Mart is the closest thing DeKalb has to a town square.

[Strategic Goal 2, Communications] Provide opportunities to educate employees and the public about these programs that may be complex in nature or projects for which the long range benefits to the community may be difficult to understand (i.e., TIF, airport, etc.)

Translation: We have chosen to believe you are ill- or misinformed, rather than acknowledge that you might simply disagree with us.

But, OK, let’s go with that. What we certainly do understand is that you’ve had dozens of years to make the downtown TIF and the airport work, and have failed. That’s more than enough to justify talking about alternatives.

Consider the recruitment and hiring of a communications manager

Now that our new purchasing director is doing the budgeting, I can’t figure out what Rudy Espiritu’s job is. Maybe he’s available.

Seriously, there should be no more hiring until public safety is back up to snuff. Meantime, move one of the I & T staff members part-time under the City Clerk’s office for some of the communication functions.